President Obama hedged on the following promises:

"I'll put a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use it to help Indiana families pay their heating and cooling bills and reduce energy costs." — 4/25/08, Indianapolis

"I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for their skyrocketing energy costs and other bills." — 6/9/08, Raleigh, North Carolina

UPDATES:

Updated: January 26, 2009

We originally rated this promise as "broken," but after carefully reconsidering the current situation (and in the interest of fairness) have changed our rating to "hedged." Should oil prices go back up to 2008 levels we will reconsider this change in rating should President Obama fail to bring up the subject of windfall profit tax at that time.

Updated December 6, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama is not planning to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies because prices have dropped below $80 a barrel, an aide said on Tuesday. "President-elect Obama announced the policy during the campaign because oil prices were above $80 per barrel," an aide on Obama's transition team said. "They are currently below that now and expected to stay below that." Reuters Dec. 2, 2008

Rate this promise + or - whether you believe it is good or bad for the nation.

According to the American Small Business League, President-elect Barack Obama has now broken his promise to enact a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry which would have provided a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to American families, as well as his promise to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

If oil prices are down and oil industry profits are truly down, what's the harm in passing a windfall profits tax? Even if you buy the right-wing nonsense about a windfall profits tax "hurting the industry" or "hurting the economy" when it is applied, if there really are no windfall profits to tax, then it won't be applied.

I believe Obama should have kept his promise. Passing a bill now is easier than when there are windfall profits.

That way, when oil skyrockets to $150 a barrel again the law is already in place. Get it?

obama campaign promise 4/25/08 - "I'll put a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use it to help Indiana families pay their heating and cooling bills and reduce energy costs."
6/9/08 - "I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for their skyrocketing energy costs and other bills."
Ask yourself:
1) obama please define "windfall" profits - what does that mean?, we all know how obama feels about PROFITS with obama's anti-business, anti-capitalism, anti-American socialist philosophy, i guess obama defines "windfall' as making enough money to have to pay even more of obama's defined "fair share". What is the "fair share" if 48% of populace pays zero, that is NO federal income tax? That's fair?
2) obama what have you done for US energy independence and increased efficiency and promoting business and jobs in this country?
Regular gas prices heading for $5, $6 or $8 per gallon?
Oct 2009 approx $2.309 to $2.449 /gal
Oct 2010 approx $2.529 to $2.799 /gal
Oct 2011 approx $3.389 to $3.499 /gal
obama has: prohibited deep offshore drilling, discouraged domestic exploration for oil, attacked the coal industry, discouraged nuclear energy, but backed with considerable expense -solar and wind which, if optimized, couldn't come close to supplying this nations energy needs. Obama has allowed others to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, obama has invested $6 billion in US taxpayer money in Brazil's oil industry.
3) in his first (HOPEfully and CHANGEing) term in office what segment of society hasn't been poorly and adversely impacted by his socialist, racist, community disorganized driven ideology? What could we expect from a man with absolutely NO practical experience in life, business, or management who bambuzzled enough of the US electorate to be the sitting President of the United States? Is obama the 44th best president? Is he better than Carter?